Like the Stars hold the Moon
by Enchantable
Summary: Post 'Witness', Cassie comes over the morning after to check on Jake and they wind up patching each other up.


**Holy crapolla! Those Jake and Cassie moment's make the Cassie and Adam moment's their biatch! Seriously those two are like beyond amazing on the show. The whole star-crossed lovers thing would be a lot easier to stomach if those two had half as much chemistry as the pair of them.**

**So spoilers for all of 'witness'**

* * *

He could still taste the ash.

With a groan, Jake tumbled onto the bed. His mind felt raw, like it had been split open which, in some ways, it had. He hadn't been joking when he said that he'd blocked the night his parents died out. But he hadn't expected how it would feel to undo the work his mind had done to protect itself. Every time he inhaled it felt like he was dragging smoke tinged air through his lungs. His palms still hurt from where he'd scraped them in his desperate tumble from the window.

Their screams still rang in his ears.

Jake would have reached up and pressed the pillow to his ears if he thought that it'd help. But the only place pressing a pillow would help was his mouth and he didn't think he had the strength to smother himself. Not after the night he had anyway, which was a pity because he felt like dying would actually be an improvement on how he felt. Just so long as it wasn't in a fire.

Fighting not to moan, Jake tried to force the panic down. He was an arsonophobe on the best of days, even when the memories were buried deep in his head. Now they were raging through him and even with the knowledge of what he had seen, the panic was still utterly crippling. He doubted he could light a candle at this point, much less run through a burning building to save anyone-even if it was Cassie and Melissa.

His stomach rolled at the familiar memory of the smoke and he barely had time to grab the waste basket by the bed before he was retching into it. He knew enough about memory spells not to eat anything before hand but that didn't stop the meager contents of his stomach from coming up. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he rolled onto his back. His hand settled on his forehead and he tried not to shudder at the hot-cold feeling that filled him.

"Hey."

Blearily Jake opened his eyes and looked over to see Cassie standing in his doorway. He let his eyes close, half wishing that she was there to kill him and half wishing that she was going to leave him alone. She did neither as her soft boots stepped on the creaky board three feet from the door. Unfortunately that creak seemed to happen at the same moment his stomach rolled and before he could think about what little dignity he had left, he was puking again.

When he gathered himself enough to roll onto his back, Cassie was perched neatly on his bed, a glass of water in one hand and her unnervingly direct gaze directed at him. The last thing Jake wanted was to be on the receiving end of one of Cassie's looks, especially while lying on the bed looking like he went through the grinder. Forcing the lurching back, Jake shoved himself up on his forearms and looked at the girl.

"Here," Cassie said holding out the water.

Jake shook his head and Cassie sighed, looking down at the cold glass in her hands before looking back up at him.

"You should try to drink something," she said finally, "I don't know how to heal your throat after-"

She trailed off with a shrug but she didn't have to say more. Jake had screamed himself raw all through the night and the post mind-fuck vomiting hadn't helped the situation. Not for the first time he was glad he finished school, because he had a feeling that speaking was going to be an impossible task for a few days. If he was with Isaac one of the other witches could have healed his throat. Of course the only thing Isaac wanted to do to his throat now was slit it.

Which Jake was sadly having trouble finding a problem with.

Siding with the Circle, with Witches, was something he'd sworn he would never do. It had been impressed on him over and over again that his relationship with Isaac and the Hunter's was unique. Of the handful of witches they used, he was by far the longest lasting and the most trusted. They were his family, more than the flesh and blood which had burned before his eyes. And in a single night he'd gone and destroyed that relationship. All for a girl who was more interested in locking lips with a boy who was her destiny than some hunter who almost got her killed.

If he had anything left he'd have puked again but his stomach gave an unpleasant roll before giving up-which seemed to be pretty much the only thing he could do. That and betray everyone who was stupid enough to give him a chance. Worse though was the fact that Cassie had seen it all. The betrayal, the fear, the cowardice, she'd seen it all. He had no problem seeing why he was anything but the first choice, especially now. He wouldn't pick him either.

"I never got a chance to thank you for saving me and Melissa from the fire," she said, "so thanks. I know that couldn't have been easy for you-"

"I don't want your pity."

It hurt like fuck to talk but the only thing worse than her looks was her pity. He might have made a ton of mistakes and he might have been a traitor but the one thing he wasn't was a pity case. Even after exhuming a grave she still looked at him like he was some kid who needed to be hugged and tucked into entire town had had looked at him like a pity case, but somehow the look coming from one girl was much _much_ worse. Maybe because the very last person he'd wanted to see him running around and shouting like a pathetic fool was Cassie.

"I don't pity you," Cassie said quietly looking down at her hand.

Jake gave a humorless chuckle.

"You're almost as bad a liar as I am," Jake rasped, easing himself back down.

He heard Cassie sigh and the bed dipped as she got up. Forcing his eyes open, he watched as she set the glass of water down on the bedside table. He watched as she carelessly toed off her boots and kicked them to the side where they'd be out of the way. Shrugging off her jacket she laid it over his duffle before sitting back on the bed and scooting back so she was next to him. Laying her head on the pillow, she bent one knee and crossed the other over it.

"I have stars on my ceiling too," she said nodding up to the stick on decals that decorated the plaster, "my mom put them there," she added. He gave the barest nod, "yours too huh?"

The burning in his eyes was suddenly fierce and intense. He'd pushed down the memories of his parents, the foggy ones he had anyway. Now the clearest, sharpest ones were those of his mother beating a glass door and screaming for someone to help. The rational part of him reminded him that his mother couldn't see him,and even if she could there was no way she'd know it was him. But the rest of him could only think that the last thing she saw before she died was her son turning away from her.

"So," Cassie continued, "since you left IFaye's attempted to steal my power-more than once. She's got a friend now who knows voodoo-or pretends to, I'm not really sure. But that's why I passed out during the fire."

She fell silent, considering her words. Jake knew what she was doing. He had zero interest in what happened while he was gone, even if the truth of the matter was he had nowhere else to go. He also knew Cassie was saving him from either having to talk or crumble to pieces. Even if he didn't care about what she was saying, he could focus on her voice. He could distract himself from either of the other options.

"Ethan's stopped drinking, he even chaperoned the dance," Jake raised an eyebrow, "I know. Oh, Diana's grandmother came to visit and she tried to kill me," she tried to make her voice nonchalant but he heard the hurt all the same, "I've been staying with it her, with Diana. That's why the lights are out in my house."

"Where's your grandmother?" he asked when she fell silent.

"Getting better," she said.

She fell silent and he didn't push the subject. Just because very dark shameful piece of him had been laid bare to her, didn't mean she needed to extend the same to him. The silence seemed heavy between them, laying thick in all the spaces created by the things neither could bring themselves to say.

"I dreamed about you when you were gone," Cassie said finally. Jake turned to look at her, "I-I strangled you with my mind."

"Was that before you performed the attraction spell?" he asked.

Cassie pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at him. Despite the shock on her face, a pale pink flush spread quickly over her cheeks and for a second Jake felt bad for embarrassing her.

"How did you know-" she began.

"Witch Hunter," he said, even though the title that he had once worn with pride seemed to stick in his throat, "I know when someone's putting a spell on me."

"Is that why you came back?" she asked softly.

Jake looked at her silently, considering her answer. Pushing himself up, he nodded at the glass of water. Cassie quickly reached over and handed it to him. It felt like drinking acid but he forced it down past the raw pain. Half was about all he could stomach and she quickly took the glass from him before he could drop it. Jake eased himself back against the headboard and Cassie followed, seamlessly shifting to face him even though their height difference was painfully obvious.

"I wasn't aware of the spell until I got off the boat," he said and was surprised it was less painful to talk, "I was thinking about this place," he continued, "but when I felt your spell I decided to come back."

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Two days ago," he replied.

"What?" Cassie gasped and pushed herself up, "where were you?"

"Around," Jake said with a shrug, "I needed to take advantage of resources I won't have access to once Isaac-" he trailed off with a shrug he hoped conveyed something other than the sick feeling in his stomach.

"Once he tells everyone you left?" Cassie supplied.

Silently Jake nodded. The blonde girl frowned for a silent moment before scooting forward a bit so they were closer together without actually touching and turning on her side so she was fully facing him. Jake looked over at her, looking for the disgust he saw in Adam's gaze or the betrayal that was echoed in Diana's. But there was none of that in Cassie's gaze. She just looked tired and Jake felt like he could sympathize with that. He felt bone tired as well, but the threat of what would occur if he closed his eyes kept them open.

Looking down, Jake's eyes went to the pale pink line that broke Cassie's skin. Hunter blades were designed to scar witches, and the line would fade with time, but it still seemed wrong on her skin. He wondered if that was the only scar on her body, though it was by far the most visible. As though reading his mind, Cassie reached out and brushed a finger over the pale pink line.

"First witch hunter battle wound," she said, "I think it makes me look tough."

"Totally," Jake agreed dimly.

"Did you know the girl?" she asked.

"We never got along," Jake said, "she didn't like the idea of working with a witch," Cassie was silent, "I didn't plan to kill her," he said finally.

"Did you plan to kill Mr. Wilson?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

"He was going to tell you about your dark magic. I was trying to stop that," he said. Cassie raised an eyebrow at him, "your Circle couldn't find out either. Not before I knew more about what-" he stopped, "about _who_ you were."

Cassie looked up at the ceiling.

"I strangled Adam," she said finally. Jake looked over at her sharply, "he told the Circle about my dark magic and I strangled him," she glanced over at him before looking back at the ceiling, "I could feel his power but he couldn't do anything to stop me."

Jake reached out and touched her finally, just the brush of a finger against the edge of her scar. Cassie looked down at his hand and followed his arm back up to his face. For the first time he saw genuine doubt on her face. She opened her mouth and then pressed her lips together, as though she was afraid of what she was going to say. But then he saw resolve in her eyes and she looked up at him resolutely.

"Do you think I can control my dark magic?" she asked.

"Yes," Jake said without hesitation.

Relief filled Cassie's face. Forcing his jellied limbs to move, Jake pushed himself up and staggered over to his duffle bag. His hand shook violently as he grasped the plastic tab and dragged the zipper down. His book was on the top where he'd dropped it before collapsing. Hobbling back to the bed he laid back down next to her and cracked open the well worn book to the page he was looking for. Cassie shifted closer to him, looking at the pages intently.

"This is what you tried to show me the night of the fundraiser," she said.

"Each of our Books has a focus," Jake said, "mine is about dark magic. It's a history of the darkest families."

"My family," Cassie finished quietly.

"Yes," he said, "I don't know what ritual the Council used to try and kill your father, but this book details how to stop witches who get out of control."

"Except for dark witches huh?" Cassie said looking at the page.

Jake looked over at her quietly for a moment, wondering how much he should tell her. A huge part of him wanted to tell her everything, but the rest of him knew that was not a wise idea. Just because the Hunters were temporarily leaving them alone, didn't mean they wouldn't be back. Isaac had made it clear that he would not let a Circle with two Balcoin children stay. Not after what happened with Blackwell and the previous Circle.

"I can stop you."

Cassie glanced up at him, surprised at the seriousness on his face.

"You really think that?" she said.

"You haven't attacked me yet," he said. She looked down, "what?" he asked.

"I dreamed I strangled you," she said, "you came back and I killed you and it was even easier than when I tried to kill Adam," she frowned at the look on his face, "what?"

"That was a dream," he pointed out.

"I know," she said rolling her eyes, "but it felt so real," she pushed herself up, "and the attraction spell worked. So how can you be sure that you'd be able to stop me?"

Jake shifted to the side and reached out, running his finger along the scar and turning her palm up. Cassie exhaled shakily as he spread her fingers with his, opening her small palm. Jake closed his eyes and gently reached for her power with his. It was as easy as it had been the first time he did it. He heard her breath catch as his magic twined with hers, ghosting over some invisible place neither could see. He let their power settle, let the dark and light magic inside her recognize the familiar connection as she got used to the sensation.

Then he slowly drew it out.

He focused on the spell, on providing the framework and letting her magic fill in the blank spaces. Despite everything she trusted him, even if it was only on some primal level she didn't fully understand. Her magic reacted to his beautifully and without hesitation. Opening an eye, Jake looked to see Cassie had hers closed, focused entirely on what he was doing. He let the spell continue to blossom as he leaned forward.

"Open your eyes."

Cassie opened her eyes and gasped.

All around them were stars. They flickered and sparked in the dimmed light of Jake's room, turning the entire space into a planetarium. Even as she looked around more flickered into existence as others shone brightly and died. They were aware of each star, of each blossom of their magic. A delighted, almost girlish laugh came from Cassie as she reached out and touched one of the stars, watching as it erupted into a riot of smaller sparkles. Reaching out with magic, Jake drew one to them and caught it in his hand, changing it from a star to a bird that hovered above his fingers.

"This is amazing," Cassie gasped looking at the magic, "how are doing this?"

"The same rules of the Circle don't apply to us," Jake said, "I've spent most of my life with my power unbound and you," he smiled, "you've got your own magic."

"But-" Cassie began.

Jake kept his eyes open this time and their gazes stayed locked as he slowly drew the magic back. Cassie's lips parted, her pupils blown wide as he curled the magic back into her. He let her feel how his power laid the framework and hers followed. This time she seemed more aware of what was happening, but she let him take control. All the stars faded until the only thing that remained was the small bird on his fingers before that too faded away, leaving only the barest shimmer of magic dancing like smoke between the digits.

Slowly Cassie leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Jake felt his breath leave with a rush as her lips moved against his. In the glow of magic he leaned into the kiss, his mouth moving against hers. Her body shifted closer to his as he reached out with his hand, his fingers cupping the back of her neck. The last glimmer of their power elicited a soft gasp from her as she leaned closer to him, pressing her body fully against his for a perfect moment before pushing him back onto the bed.

Half on top of him she pushed herself up and looked down at him. Jake stared back at her. Lust stained her lips a deep rose and painted pink across her cheeks. It blew her pupils wide, leaving only the thinnest ring of blue around her iris. Her chest rose and fell erratically through the thin fabric of her tank top and Jake only managed to lay underneath her for a moment before reaching up and pulling her back down to him.

She went eagerly, her small form shifting so more of her was on top of him. His free hand slid underneath her shirt, Her skin was perfectly smooth, the calluses on his palms dragging roughly against it. But that only seemed to entice her as a soft sound came from her throat and her hips moved against his. The stab of heat that went through him was expected and maddening and he wanted nothing more than to keep going until the only stars Cassie thought of were the ones they made together.

Instead he forced himself to stop her.

Cassie looked down at him and if seeing her after a kiss was hard, seeing her like this was a thousand times worse. Especially when she looked at him and seemed to understand perfectly what he was thinking. She let out a soft sigh and leaned down, laying her head against his chest and shifting so that she was tucked into his side without actually laying on top of him. Much to his chagrin, Jake felt heat spread across his face in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"We shouldn't anyway," she said, her voice equally quiet, "not with everything-" she trailed off.

Jake tightened his hand on her shoulder. Everything was an impossibly loaded but perfectly apt statement for their situation. Isaac, Adam, even John Blackwell seemed to settle like a weight between them. Even so when Cassie's fingers settled at the edge of his t-shirt, the tips just reaching past where the soft cotton ended, Jake felt like the rest of him was not on the rational, gentlemanly track he was trying to stick to.

"You're staying right?" Cassie said, angling her head up so she could look at him.

"Yeah," he said, "I'll be here."

"Good," the younger girl said, settling herself against his chest and yawning softly, "know any spells that keep away nightmares?"

"I'll wake you up," he offered.

Cassie nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. Soon her chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm against his side. Jake couldn't remember the last time he'd shared a bed with someone if it wasn't for some kind of ulterior motive. But all the same it was oddly peaceful to be in his old bed with light filtering through the blinds and a pretty girl curled by his side. He could almost imagine that his aunt was downstairs making breakfast and Nick was about to come in from the early morning soccer practice his uncle used to take him to every saturday morning.

When he drifted off, he didn't dream of smoke or fire or Isaac killing Cassie. He didn't see his parents dying or the demon that took his brother away. The memory of those first few days when he discovered his book and saw magic as only an evil, terrible thing didn't haunt his thoughts. The old nightmares that had assaulted him almost every night, that had him filling prescription after prescription for sleeping pills even at the most questionable pharmacies didn't bother him at all. For the first time in nearly a decade, Jake Armstrong didn't fall asleep to dream of horrors.

Instead he dreamed of stars.

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**So expect a really smutty one shot that I wrote after getting a request. That was supposed to go first but, um, after this episode this kind of sprung up and I couldn't write anything but it.**

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